I am just wondering if anyone out there has experience using whitestrips to whiten their teeth when they also have a crown mixed in there. I have a crown on one tooth (I believe its called the eyetooth). I am just wondering if the whitestrips will whiten the teeth but leave the crown the same color?
If the crown is porcelain it will not change color. Some older crowns were made with acrylic on metal. These may lighten or yellow slightly with bleaching.
I don’t have a crown, but what I do have is a build-up on 2 teeth (that I have had for over 25 years). My dentist recommended whitening my teeth a few years ago. What happened is that the teeth with the buildups did not lighten. So my dentist redid the top of the 2 teeth and I lived happily ever after.
So my recommendation is that you go to your dentist for the whitening product. This way you will get a whitening product that doesn’t hurt your teeth. Why I mention this is that the some of the toothpastes that claim to whiten your teeth can take off the enamel of some people. (My brother had this happen and it is not a good thing)
Funny you should mention that, the reason I am even thinking about this is when I had a check up last week the dentist suggested a crown on a front tooth that had nerve damage from a crash 15 years ago. That tooth ended up having a root canal and my current dentist suggested it could be getting brittle and should have a crown soon. They then suggested whitening my teeth before coming in for a crown so that the new crown would match my newly whitened teeth (they really aren’t too bad).
Then they pulled out a display box for ‘Crest Whitestrips’ and explained the benifits. They also explained that the reason these are twice as expensive as the kind you buy at the store is because they are more powerful and are considered a controlled substance and you can’t buy them anywhere. Seemed like a sales push to me. It got me thinking later and thats why I posted about the existing crown and whitening.
The Whitestrips available in the store are 10% carbamide peroxide. This used to be sold by prescription only. The ones your dentist showed you would be the 16% variety. Try the 10% first, then the 16% if you do not get satisfactory results.
We sometimes recommend bleaching before a crown if the natural teeth seem to be stained or yellowed, especially if the new crown will be on an anterior tooth.
Does the canine crown you currently have match the rest of your teeth or does it seem lighter? If it matches what you now have you may want to just skip the bleaching. Otherwise you will have nice light teeth and a new light crown, set off by that dark canine crown. Any composite fillings up front, at the gumline or between the teeth? These will not lighten, either, and may need replacement after bleaching.
Thanks for the reply peri. I think that is the information I was looking for. The crown I currently have on the canine matches the other teeth, so I think I will skip the whitening.
Does it sound normal for a tooth to turn brittle after a root canal that was done so long ago? I just really don’t want to put a crown on my front tooth, I am afraid of them not getting it to look right.
Any tooth that has root canal treatment can become brittle. SOP in my office is the tooth will be crowned if it is a molar or premolar. The usual reason for RCT on these teeth is deep decay, which means huge filling after treatment. One of the cusps is likely to break off, risking fracture into the root and possibly necessitating extraction. A crown greatly increases your chances of keeping the tooth. Canines may or may not get crowns, depending on why the treatment was done. Most incisors just get the access filled.
That’s not to say you don’t need to crown that tooth now. Just that most get by with a filling. Ask your dentist why a crown at this time. Any evidence the status quo has changed, such as greying or increased chipping?
She mentioned some graying. The deal with that tooth is I hit a road closed barricade on a motorcycle at about 40-45mph and ended up getting lots of stitches inside and out of my mouth. The next visit to the dentist he said that there had been nerve damage and did a root canal on it (I think he said I had killed the tooth), I believe he then dyed the tooth because it was turning gray at that time. This was around 15+ years ago so I might be a little hazy on the details of what was done at that time.
If your dentist has really determined a crown is needed get it. Do ask her any questions you may have and mention any reservations. A good dentist would rather have an informed patient. What are the risks? Why now and not 5 years? Degree of grey shift and how quickly? Alternatives? Will a post be necessary? Material crown will be made of? The area you probably won’t be able to assess is how good her lab is. Some are MUCH better than others at fabricating natural looking crowns.
If the greying is not a signal the tooth is going to break off ask about cosmetic bonding, with or without internal bleaching. From your description it seems internal bleaching may have been done around the time of the root canal. A strong oxidizing solution is put into the canal, cleaned out and repeated once or twice, then the tooth is sealed. This may not be an option, as it may increase the risk of internal root resorption. Repeated treatment increases the risk.
You can also get a second opinion if you are still unsure. (Again, be an informed patient.)